Liverpool are set for a huge summer, and if reports are to be believed, FC Barcelona are now interested in a move for superstar Sadio Mane.
The 30-year-old winger has been tipped with a move away from Anfield over the past few months, with Mane’s contract with Liverpool expiring in 2023 and progress on a new deal going at a snail’s pace, factors which have alerted Barcelona to the Senegal forward.
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The former Southampton attacker has been outstanding for Liverpool this season in their bid to win the quadruple, yet Barcelona could be an alluring prospect for Mane, and the Catalan side plucking big-name players from Anfield is hardly anything new.
Indeed, Barcelona have regularly raided Liverpool for some of their best players, and here are seven names who have represented both the La Liga side and the English giants over the years.
Thiago Alcantara
Thiago Alcantara has been exceptional for Liverpool this season, yet it’s easy to forget that the Spanish international could have ended up at arch-rivals Manchester United in 2013 had David Moyes agreed to take the midfielder from Barcelona.
Hailed as the heir to Xavi Hernandez’s throne, Thiago was instead bought by Bayern Munich, where the silky maestro asserted himself as one of the best midfielders in world football before taking his talents to Liverpool, where he has been brilliant in recent months.
Philippe Coutinho
Barcelona’s record transfer and a sale that helped Liverpool fund the signings of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, Philippe Coutinho’s £142m transfer to Catalonia in January 2018 was a seismic event for both European clubs, yet as we know, the Reds came away with the better end of the bargain.
The Brazilian was nothing but a flop for Barcelona, with Coutinho now out on loan with Aston Villa were the Midlands-based side will be looking to sign the talented winger on a permanent transfer, much to the relief of Barca, who will no doubt be desperate to offload the former Liverpool superstar.
Luis Garcia
A cult hero at Anfield and a member of the 2005 UEFA Champions League-winning squad in Istanbul, Luis Garcia started his career in Barcelona where the former Spain star became a regular at the Nou Camp before taking his talents to Liverpool.
On Merseyside, Garcia would spend three seasons with Liverpool, making over 100 appearances for the Reds and guiding Rafa Benitez’s side to the aforementioned Champions League as well as the 2006 FA Cup against West Ham.
Jari Litmanen
One of the finest attacking midfielders of the 1990s and a bona fide legend of Ajax, Jari Litmanen played for both Barcelona and Liverpool shortly after leaving the Dutch giants at the peak of his footballing career.
Despite an incredible goalscoring and assist record with the Amsterdam side throughout the 1990s, Litmanen was unable to recapture the magic he produced at Ajax with either Barcelona or Liverpool as injuries caught up with the Finnish legend.
Javier Mascherano
Whilst Coutinho went to Barcelona and has quickly become one of the club’s worst transfers in recent memory, the same can’t be said for Javier Mascherano, who left Liverpool for Catalonia and became a focal point for the La Liga giants.
A two-time Champions League winner and a member of arguably the best club side to ever play football, Mascherano was a key player for two generations of Barcelona’s highest peaks in recent years, and the defender is highly-regarded for his achievements since leaving Liverpool.
Pepe Reina
Another player who left Barcelona for Liverpool and became an icon in the red half of Merseyside, Pepe Reina was long considered one of the best keepers to ever play for the club in the Premier League before a certain Alisson rolled into town in 2018.
Still playing at the age of 39 for Serie A side Lazio, Reina made almost 400 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool during his eight seasons with the club. And whilst silverware wasn’t regular for the Spaniard, the keeper is still well-remembered by the Anfield faithful.
Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez moving to Barcelona was as perfect a move as you can imagine, yet even the most diehard of Liverpool supporters never could have predicted how incredible the Uruguayan striker would turn out for the Spanish giants.
The central striker for arguably the best-attacking front-three in football history, Suarez left Barcelona in 2020 as the club’s third-highest ever goalscorer with 198 goals, an impressive feat given that the forward joined from Liverpool in 2014.
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